The one with 2013 plans

I'm devoting my first day of 2013 for some quality time with the family, being a couch potato, just enjoying and relaxing.  This is the only day nobody will call for inquiries, asking for party requirements and sorts.  My phone won't ring.  I don't even want to check my work mails just for today or else, I'd start working and not stop. ahehe.  But i've already made some plans in my mind on what to do for the rest of the week, like booking the rest of my suppliers for the party this weekend, do some background screening on some potential suppliers and work on some crafts and arts for parties.

It's a good start. Let's take it a day at a time :)

The one with lesser fireworks

It's a good thing that fewer people used fireworks this year.  Less air pollution, more savings and a safer new year. Less people who'd be victims of the fireworks, thus, less people who'd be using Roll-A-bout knee walker as a result of potential accidents.  Every year gets better and better, fireworks wise. :)

We bought a lights display from Dragon Fireworks, just the simple 16-shot and also some lighting candles. My sis in law bought horns for the kids. We celebrated and welcomed new year with more food, less fireworks, cleaner air, and good music. :)

Happy new year again!!!

The one with new year habits

I notice over the years, I always do things the same way, habits that are hard to break if you may call it.  My husband started the topic while we were eating and here are some of the our habits that we subconsciously do every year:

~ I always buy "comfort food" every new year's eve.  Food like chips, cheetos, pringles, chips ahoy, chocolates, ice cream. I dont know why but i've always done this since I was a kid and Simon told me he does it every year as well.

~ I always extra clean every new year. haha. I try to declutter as much as i can, bring out the hand tools and fix whatever we can.

~ Even if we have our usual eve's dinners at our families' houses, i always want to cook and prepare something for our home.  I want to at least put an extra effort since i don't cook all the time and I want christmas or new year to be that occasion, i'll prepare something for my family. :)

What's your new year habit???

The one with happy new year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

WELCOME 2013!!!

Thank you Lord for all the blessings, for good health for my family and the whole Fermins and Tans. Thank you Lord for the challenges of life and the strength you've given us to surpass all these.  We welcome 2013 with grateful hearts, excitement and glee. :)

The one with trying to declutter

It is just one lazy day at home. The Christmas holiday just went by, my business is flourishing and I
planned everything out in advance. So in short I don’t have anything to do at this very moment. So I
decided to have a year-end cleaning at home.

I went to the basement and check out the things stored there. And I was shocked that we have
accumulated things of different sort. Old furnitures, shoes, last season clothes, kitchen tools, last year’s
gifts from friends and my husband’s endless collection of musical instruments.

My husband you know is a music man. He loves music that I’m always awed at the instruments and
brands that he has. Casio, Zildjian, Yamaha, Nagoya Susuki and one particular brand that I know nothing
about.it is a brand of a harmonica that sounds foreign to me.

Before it went for garage sale list, I needed to ask first if my husband is ready to let go of his babies.

In the end, my old things and my daughter’s are put on sale. For him, there are few but it was sold out
as soon as we put it out. Well, hubby you proved me wrong.

The one with another gadget

I'm just waiting for my husband to ask me when he can buy his own new toy.  Surprisingly, he has'nt asked me yet.  But i've looked into allen and heath site to check on some amplifiers and mixers that he can choose from.  I also want to check new keyboard or external drives that he can choose from too.  Knowing that he is a musician and a passionate one, i'm sure he'll choose a music-related gift for himself. :)

Just tell me beh what you want, and we'll see. hehe. 

The one with Christmas themes and motiff

This christmas, we decided on having certain motifs on the colors of our clothes.  my sister in law suggested red, green and blue.  Then we also had exchange gifts with a twist. It's a pretty cool game. Each one is asked to bring three gifts worth 20 pesos each and then wrap it up.  then we are asked to get a card with the following meaning: Ace means you can pick three gifts; King, jack or queen means two gifts, odd number means one gift and even number means no gift to pick.  It's so fun and more fun unwrapping the gifts and finding what gifts you can get for 20 pesos. hahaha. There was a box i thought it was something big like Jack Daniels Cowboy Hats, but to my surprise it was a 20 peso bill. hahaha. funny!

The one with anniv gift

Blessings always come in unexpected forms. and one of this was when my laptop broke and could'nt charge anymore. So i told my husband about it and he instantly suggested that he buys me a new laptop since it's been two years since i got the last one.  At first, i'm a bit hesitant as i find it a little extravagant to buy a laptop  but come to think of it, it will take longer before my laptop gets fixed plus the cost maybe half of what a new laptop costs.  So when i said yes to my husband, he researched and strolled on different malls to find out the best laptop for me within our budget range. And here's what he got for me. :)

The one with 7 years of wedded bliss

i cant believe it has been that long, we have been married for seven years already, known each other for 14 years and have been inseparable ever since.  and I will always thank God for his life.  the lines in the song "When God made you, He must have been thinking about me" holds true to us.  Yes, we may have our petty fights, disagreements, debates etc but our love for each other is still bigger than any of this.  Thank you beh for everything. Thank you for being my bestfriend. thank you for always believing in me and most of all, for always bringing me closer to God.  I love you!

The one with exercise regimen

I forgot all about our gym with all the activities and Christmas rush-ness for the past weeks.  But like what i told my friend Jill, I want to try yoga and see if it's better than gym.  I want to be more lean.  I feel stocky whenever i go to the gym but it also gives me a good feeling whenever i sweat and whenever i move and exercise.  I think i can get the same benefits with yoga.  I have yet to tell simon about it, there's also yoga for men but im not sure if he'll like that. He's been into gym mode ever since and i think he likes it better than yoga but let's see. :)

The one with ending the year soon

Christmas is over and just a few more days, the year will end too. I'm thankful for all the blessings we had this year and I'm praying for a fruitful 2013 too. We have a lot of things lined-up for next year like the house-move, travels abroad and Simone's grade school education among other things. I can't believe Simone will be Grade 1 soon! (I am so getting old! LOL). I have to seriously start thinking about what grade school she'll go to, and yes, about personalized name plates again.

Anyways, hope you all had a happy Christmas eve celebration with your families and friends, and I hope we'll all have a blessed new year!

The one with surprise gift for husband

With all the activities and errands needed to finish today, including the banner printing services i inquired to,  I'm so proud I was able to squeeze in some time to buy an anniversary gift for Simon.  I love it! I just inquired yesterday from a supplier, and when i realized that it is readily available, I asked for a meet up already and after a couple of hours, i have it in my hand.

Happy 7th Anniversary beh! thank you for everything and for the seven years of wedded bliss. :)

PS. Shhhh, this is a surprise gift so he does'nt have any inkling of thought as to what i will give. hope he does'nt read my blog.

The one with Christmas rush

Everybody is in a rush! and in no time, Christmas will be over. I went to the mall a while ago and felt that it was like a weekend with all the people rushing to buy gifts for Christmas and enjoying their small-group christmas parties and reunions.  I just hope we all pause for a moment to enjoy and feel the real meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of Jesus Christ.

The one with christmas traffic

Of course, everytime it's nearing Christmas, there's always Christmas traffic.  I'am sooo tempter to use my brother's motorcycle but im not sure how else i can borrow it from my brother but i still dont know how to ride a motorcycle. i also need to buy a Joe Rocket helmet so i'dy  be better and safer. 

Stay away from our traffic!!!

The one with house hunting for storage

It’s an odd time to be looking for a house now, but I am (again!). Lucky for us, I’m not on the look-out for a house we can live in, but more of a house that I can use to stock my party equipment. We’re prepping for when it’s time to move out of the house we’re renting now and move in to our very own house. We hope to move by February of next year (and hope the house is finished by then. Not that everything’s still skeletons with resistoflex teflon hose visible in every corner, but they took their sweet time building the house!)

So anyway, if you happen to know a great place (preferably dry and clean at all times of the year), give me a holler!J

The one with computer repair

My husband's been asking me if i want a new laptop for Christmas.  I honestly don't want a new gadget, but h offer i really tempting. haha.  My lappy is in need of heavy keyboard cleaning, some keys need to be pressed several times before it works again.  It needs serious Computer help but a new gadget might be a more comfortable option. haha.

It's starting to feel like Christmas! :)

The one with Christmas parties

When it's time of the year to go to christmas parties, it gives me such pleasure to see themed parties as well.  And our parents are on a hectic schedule attending to parties here and there.  It's nice to see them in costumes, practicing their performances etc.  I love the fact that they are busy with these things, and keeping themselves entertained.  My mom in law was Madam Auring in one Christmas party so she borrowed my earrings, necklaces, including sterling silver necklace, bangles and i bought for her a touch lamp that can work as a light of her "magic ball". haha.

It's fun attending parties, I just held one with my staff last night and we had a blast. A separate post on that.

The one with potentials

After seeing Simone's dance number, I would like to consider enrolling Simone to a ballet lesson this January, so we could see if it will really interest her.  Aside from singing, I also am very interested to checking what percussion instruments might be okay with her or if she'd be interested in one.  Right now, i know that she is interested with guitar, drum, and tambourine as well.  I don't want to force her to learning one but since that's one of her dad's greatest skills, and it would be a delight to see it in her. :)

The one with initial phase of moving in

While I am mulling over our house transfer, I thought maybe getting something like a symbol barcode scanner selection will be helpful for inventory and stock purposes. I think it might be good for keeping track of our party equipment since we won’t be stocking them in the house, and I am envisioning myself not seeing them on a daily-- even weekly basis especially on peak seasons such as this month.

Incidentally, I am relived that half of this month is over and I can look forward to quality time with my family when we can just relax and enjoy the holidays, and yeah, our anniversary. Christmas is truly the busiest time of the year-- and the happiest too J

Hope we’ll all have a blast this Christmas J

The one with Simone's christmas program

I enjoyed Simone's Christmas program yesterday.  It was her first time to dance so gracefully, memorizing all the steps, projecting as if she was a real fairy.  I was surprised to see that she enjoyed her performance. I'd have to give credit to her teacher who was so good in making them do all the steps, and considering to include in the number what kids usually love in dancing.  (read: ribbon dancing and fairy wings)

great job simone! love you! pics to be uploaded, and videos too! :)

The one with new coin banks

Now that it's Christmas season again, Simone just got two more new coin banks from her classmates and she was delighted with the new coin bank, one is a puppy and the other one is a bear.  I recently got this big old coin from my mother's house and i'm thinking of using the other coin bank for old coins, or even military coin here in the house i saw when we moved in months ago.  I know i can't fill it up but at least it may be a good start for a collection. :)

Merry Christmas!!!

The one with stage mom

The thing about getting your child into a competition is that you'd want your child to do her best, without her feeling the pressure of winning, or worst, feeling pressured to win because you are pressured for her to win. I don't know if that makes sense, but truth be told, contemplating as I am now about her recent competition, it looks as if it's always harder for the parents than it was for their kids. LOL. I mean, I had to remind myself over and over again to just be cool about it. I even thought about getting a memory foam mattress just to help me remember! Joke!

Anyway, I know I already told you about Simone winning 2nd place in the competition (it's Rizal-wide, by the way), and I also promised to write more about the details, but I just wanna rehash it again because I'm just so proud of our baby. I'm happy that Simone didn't get into her usual dramatic self and that her talents shone as a result. Congratulations, Simone!

The one with musician's wife

                                            
As a musician's wife, I know how it is to be like a "sounding board" of newly composed songs and music ideas of a musically busy mind. Not that I'm complaining. In fact, I feel kind of honored to be the first to hear of a song, to contribute my own ideas and sometimes, to be asked to sing some lines myself for a recording.

So yeah, what is there to complain about, even if I'm finding it increasingly hard to find enough space in the house to keep all Simon's music equipment in. And I'm just thinking about it now because I wondered if I should give him something of the musical variety for Christmas or maybe buy him something like those latest keyboards. But then, between you and me, Simon has more keyboards than he has time to play with them. What can I say, boys and their toys.

I'm sure I'll think of something :)

The one with another venture

I was meeting with a client yesterday and i found out that their business is manufacturing and supplying leather goods.  They are the only two top leather manufacturers and I got curious about the costs of the leather.  While she was sharing info about the business, i got excited about what we can do with these leather.  We can buy just a few sheets and try making wallets, cellphone covers etc and others out of these leather goods. Man, i hope i can make simple bags, best custom drawstring bags, wallets and passport holders. It would be a great venture to start. If only i can easily do what i can think of. :)

The one with gifts for family

As always, every year i find it hard to think of what gifts to buy for our families.  Normally, people will start shopping gifts for their families first before friends and co-workers. I do it backwards.  haha. I need to spend the whole day shopping for them.  For my mom, i thought of buying an LCD tv (since LED is still pricey) but my brothers have to pitch in haha.  A good flat panel mount will be nice to put in their wall.  I'll ask my brothers first.  What about my husband? what should i give him this christmas??? hmmm...lots of questions to answer.

The one with christmas shopping

I'm so happy i've finally started on my christmas shopping.  For a change, i wanted to finish it before the end of this month (okay, i'm exagerrating, maybe before second week of december is a better deadline) I was with my bestfriend anne, when i decided to start on buying gifts even if i don't have that list yet.  haha. And so far, i was able to buy gifts for all my three godchildren with anne, for all of simone's classmates, and three of simon's godkids.  We have a lot of boys as godkids and i don't have that much choices for gifts to buy for them. it's either a shirt or a toy. hahaha, how lame of me. :P

Merry Christmas!!!

The one with farm living

Mec, a good friend of mine, was sharing their family experience on Balik Bukid.  While i was reading her blog, i can't help but be amused with the simplest of what life has to offer.  You know, no mall or no extravagant toy can measure up to the experience of feeding an animal, petting a rabbit and riding a horse! I thought bringing an equestrian riding apparel would deem fit, but i realize you'd get all muddy and wet after all the sand play, and outdoor games.  Hmmm, i wish someday we could do this with simone and her cousins. (that is if my sister in law, jane, would'nt find it eeky to play on the sand, haha)

The one with good results

We've been using ozein ozonator for almost two months now and i could'nt be happier with the results.  For the first tihave to me, Simone has'nt caught any allergic attacks yet (and i hope she won't have one again).  Just the fact that we don't have to go to the clinic anymore, run some tests on her esp those blood tests whenever she's sick, is something i will give credit to the ozein.  We also got the ozein mobile so we can use it in the car.  I have yet to try and ozonate the water, vegetables and meat.  My bestfriend anne (who was out agent for ozein) told me that the videos on ozein about ozonating chicken and vegetables is just amazing.  I'm sure to try it next week, after this weekend's events. :)

The one with first competition

I could not believe that my daughter was chosen by her school as one of their representatives on Department of Education's Kindergarten Festival of Talents.  Her category was story reading.  When Teacher Noemi told me about it, i was mixed emotions.  I felt so happy that she was chosen, a proof that she's enjoying and thriving in school, but at the same time felt so scared about what effect it might have on her.  I was scared of myself actually.  I was not sure if i can just relax and let her enjoy just like that.  I have a tendency to be an OA (overacting) mom and i have to condition myself to be guarded at all times.   So when i told my husband about it, he was more hesitant than excited about the news.  After much talking and a deal that should she decide not to read, or throw tantrums, we would'nt force her to read at all. haha. As long as she likes to join the competition, and as long as she enjoys it, we'll let her  compete :)

And she got 2nd place! praise God. more stories to come about what happened on the day.

The one with christmas shopping!

Hark the herald angel singing falalala lalala.

Yes I am singing a Christmas song because I already feel chrimasy now. I have a long list of gift giving but I have fun with my daughter simone "wrapping" all the gifts we shop last Wednesday.
Lucky for me I got all of them on sale. That’s what I like about this season you get stuffs you want at low, low prices without sacrificing the quality. I had a meeting with my client also last Wednesday and she noticed a pair of earrings I’m wearing ( which was included to the shopping list i did). She loves it and I learned that when it comes to jewelries, she is a walking encyclopedia. She even told me that there's scott kay mens and i was like "what's that again?" i dont event know what that is but she indulged me with all the info i needed to know. haha.

Just thinking about it gets me all perked up again even after a long day of shopping and meetings. ;)

The one with wild wish

It’s a long weekend. Horay!! Family time and some fun.

Now, the problem is we don’t have a scheduled activity for it. While thinking of things that we could do, Simon and I decided to do something unconventional. Something unlikely for us even friends will be shocked if they find out what we plan on doing. You see we are not the type of people who will spend a night on the wild. But would'nt it be great if just for once we can try it? We thought of camping and hiking! hahaha. like what mountaineers do, bring utility knife, set up a tent, build a fire from stones, and all those sorts.

Then, after a lot of wishful thinking and ambitious plans, we just scrapped the whole plan out.  hahaha.  We realized this: "Who are we kidding?!" then we just went couch potato to spend our long weekend. :) Have a happy one!

The one with why we would'nt try this

The first time we saw the commercial, my husband and I were in shock "what were they thinking?!?!".  I do not want to go all eco-friendly-environmentalist-health-buff rant over this because i'd like to base my thoughts on just observations and inputs we have, and since we have'nt tried it (and we will never try it), i also want to find out what made it acceptable in the market anyway.

Maggi launched this Maggi Magic meals for those busy moms, for yuppies who can't cook, college students who stay in dorms away from home and just for people who don't know how to cook (or thought they don't have a knack for it)  The objective was fine.  What I did'nt get was the procedue and the system

1.  The plastic bag.  I dont want to claim that i'm this all-powering health buff as i have my sinful takes on eating wrong as well but eating food that was cooked in a plastic? heck no! they say there's another way to cook it not using the plastic, i hope they just hyped that and not the plastic bag. All for the love of uniqueness and out of the box rule. haist!

2.  The time.  Cooking rice using rice cooker does'nt take you 45 minutes. it's just half of that time indicated actually. so the purpose of using maggi magic meals to save time is not justifiable here.

3.  No saute needed.  For a country who always involves saute as part of cooking method, i cannot actually imagine how it would taste for pastel not having been sauteed. or the potatoes not being fried, even for just a little.

4.  I won't start thinking what the ingredients are made of to help cook the food in the plastic bag "faster"

Pardon if i sound unruly.  I just hope these companies will stop launching products just for the sake of.  I hope they won't always take advantage of the busy-ness of people, the easy way outs of things and the so-called technology.  I hope we moms will still take time to prepare food we think is best for our family, hey even if it's just fried galunggong and chopped tomatoes, i'd rather have it on my table, as long as i know how i cooked it, and what is in my food. :)

Thinking out loud here.

The one with homemade nuggets/chicken fingers

Saw this at Mad Hungry...it's yummy!

Ingredients:
Buttermilk (to make buttermilk, mix 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 cup of milk, i used fresh milk)
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Bread crumbs
chicken breast fillet, sliced

Mix buttermilk, cayenne and salt together.  i just estimated how much cayenne i want to put.  Put the chicken breast fillet and soak it for a few minutes.  Roll it over the bread crumbs.  In mad hungry, she used wholewheat bread curmbs.  Did'nt see that in the grocery so i settled for the regular one.  Then fry it in pan.  It's so tender, smells good, easy to cook and really yummy!

The one with crispy kangkong

Ingredients:
Flour
Salt
pepper
egg
kangkong leaves
oil for frying

cut the kangkong leaves.
mix flour, egg, salt and pepper
coat kangkong leaves in the flour mixture
deep fry it

Note: dont overcoat the kangkong leaves.  dont worry if the leaves are not covered too well because it will still be crunchy and crispy. If you overcoat it, it will taste more like flour.

enjoy!

The one with home cooking

Ever since i've met up with my mommy friends, i kept on thinking of ways to improve my cooking and to add more variety in the recipes i've been cooking for my family.  Thanks to Jeng and Con, they're my cooking mentors. hahaha.  I'm still learning how to make a list and plan what to prepare for the whole week.  I still can't get the routine of it so whenever i go to the grocery, I just buy whatever i think i need for the kitchen, much to my surprise, it has expired before i could have used it.

So anyway, my first attempt was during our monthly thanksgiving day.  My sister in law asked me if we can have it in our house and of course, we readily said yes.  So i asked Jeng for easy but impress-them-meals that i can make.  She gave me links of Pinoy Cook's Chicken Stuffed Cabbage and Orange Glaze pork steak.  The former was a very successful one, the latter was an acquired taste.  Using orange for your food is not a popular one but it was tasty enough as well.  But my chicken stuffed cabbage made it to their top list of favorite food. haha. Thank you Jeng for the links!

Will continue to cook healthy food for my family. I hope i'd get the hang of this soon :)

The one with ozein

In my previous post, i mentioned that we are dealing with skin asthma and allergic rhinitis of Simone.  A friend, Laksmi, mentioned about an ozonator and much to our surprise, we were talking about the same brand, Ozein.  It's a Filipino-made ozonator, cleans the air and water and even vegetables. My bestfriend, Anne, lent us her demo unit and we've been using it for a week now.  A big improvement has taken place on Simone, she can sleep through the night now.  She does'nt cough that often anymore.  Even Simon felt the effect as well.  He does'nt sneeze anymore in the morning like he always used to.  I'm really convinced with this product, will probably order one for the house and one for the car, yes they have a portable ozonator too! :)

The one with successful booking!

Been trying to get hold of Cebupacific's piso fare deals but can't get through  Much to my desperation, I called the husband and asked him to book for us, any trip, any month that covers the promo of the piso fare. hahaha.  And he was successful! yey!

I got excited because by then, Simone will be almost 7 years old and im sure she'll enjoy Disneyland more than she enjoyed it last year. :)

Til we meet again Mickey and Minnie, one year to go. hahaha.

The one with skin asthma

I've been out of the loop for quite some time mainly because my kid has been sick and i still can't figure out how we'd cope with her new condition.  Her allergic rhinitis has evolved to skin asthma now.  Our lives took a 180-degree turn when we had to change our lifestyles just so we could recover and adapt to her skin asthma.  My only prayer is that she outgrows this when she gets older.  I also pray that she won't blame me for a scar or a rough patch of skin on her body or blame her dad for the genes where she got the allergic rhinitis.

It's like we have a new baby.  When Dra Lucena told us to eliminate all factors that might trigger her skin asthma, i did'nt realize that it was a drastic change until i bought a shampoo for her, the Mustela baby shampoo that cost me 500 pesos for a small bottle.  And i told myself, "oh my, this feels like i have a baby again".  Here are other things we changed, hopefully you'll pick up tips and learnings here

~ No to chocolates.  The chocolate content itself is the one thing we have to avoid.  Not because it's sweet but because it's chocolate.  Meaning, she can still have other sweet goodies, but not so much

~ No to oily foods like fried chicken.  maybe once in a while but we have to drain the oil very well or don't put breading on the meat

~ No to chicken.  Well apparently, since Simone has been chicken lover from the start, i think she has been immuned to this already but we're crossing this out in the meantime from her menu or lessening the intake just so we can make sure it does'nt go back.

~ No to clothes being sent to laundry stores. waah. good thing we have a new helper but when my pedia told me to stop bringing her clothes to the laundry and make sure we handwash it and have it sun-dried, oh my goodness!

~ No to dust.  This is quite hard as you see we live in a tropical country where dust thrives everywhere.  Our house may be clean but it's not spic and span.  We even have to control whre the fan will be steadied so as not to dust off particles.  If i hear her sneeze,i have to look for what it is that made her sneezed and eliminate it immediately.

~ No to perfumes, colognes.  This kinda made me sad a little as we love colognes.  We love putting colognes, it makes us feel fresh but it's a big no. hmp!

~ No to egg. This is what she ate that made all her rashes appeared, on her arms, and legs.

~ Moisturizing is the key.  This should be easy but i was not used to putting lotion on simone.  I stopped applying lotion when she was 1year old.  But now, after taking a bath, i have to moisturize so her skin wont get dry and she won't itch. waaah.

Here are her new bath and body items:
~ Mustela baby shampoo - 500 pesos
~ Oilatum soap - 150 pesos i think
~ Cetaphil body cleanser - 400 pesos i think
~ Cetaphil Restoraderm body wash and lotion
~ Physiogel AI lotion when she has rough and itchy patches
~ Cutivate cream only when it's really itchy. It's a steroid cream
~ Dove unscented body soap

These are the only things we can put on her that's safe and effective.  Thank God she does'nt have rashes anymore.  Hopefully, the rough skin will soon be gone too.

More stories to share :)

The one with funny notes

It's been a while since my last update of Simone-related stories, i posted this in FB and got a lot of laughs from these. :)

A post she wrote and put up in the ref saying that her milk supply is low already. haha

We're always looking for these mosquito killers so she found a place to put them and labeled the area. :)

The one with more books!

When i posted something in my FB wall about being a walking zombie ever since simone got sick, a lot of friends, specially moms messaged me and sent their well wishes for simone.  I felt comforted just with this act of concern from them.  But when a fellow mom ( we're not that really close so her gesture caught me by surprise) messaged me and told me she will send books to Simone hoping that she'll feel better upon seeing them, I can't help but be overwhelmed with the thoughtful gesture.  you know, it's not just about the books, but it's more of the thought that a fellow mom understands the panic, stress and pain im feeling and that she has thought of a way for one's child to feel better and just do that without anything in return.  For that, i feel sooooo humbled and blessed.

Thank you Carmelyn Reyes-Latoja for being so thoughtful.

 

PS. Carmelyn Reyes-Latoja is a book illustrator of sandy's books which can be found at sandybooks.multiply.com :)

The one with wahm

I know my life has a greater purpose.  It has become more evident when I had Simone.  It was like suddenly, my life is'nt just about me, nor just about us as a couple but as a family.  And because of this, my husband and I made decisions that are life-changing, things that we know only God can control...and so far, He's the best sailor of our journey.

To cut the long story short, I became a work-at-home mom.  And many times, I find myself having a hard time juggling things; being a mom, a wife, a homemaker, an entrepreneur, a driver, a nanny, a cook, and whatever else you can label me.  haha.  I never complained.  There are just days that you don't see the end of your things to do list, hehe. But when my sister-in-law, Merci, told me while we were having our usual YM chat nights, that she sees me as an embodiment of a wahm, i was like, "yeah right!" haha.  She told me that i inspire her and she sees me as one of her motivations.  I'm glad that she sees me that way.  At least, somehow I know I'am able to motivate or encourage another mom who wants to find her fulfillment as well, as an individual (whether an entrep or an employee) and as a mom.  I'd be forever grateful that God gave me a business I can call my own, something to make my passion concrete and still be able to take care of my kid and husband.

And for that, I'm proud to be a WAHM :)

The one with what to expect when you're expecting

When i saw this film, i wondered how they could put it into film, a book that explains everything that you can expect when you're expecting.  And after watching the film, I felt a stronger desier to have a second baby! waah! i want the baby now...i want another miracle of life and I hope God will grant and bless us with one more baby. I want to have that baby bump again, to feel someone inside me is growing and to take care of another God's blessing.

The one with crazy and sick

Even if Simone is 5 already, I still can't get used to the fact that she can get sick anytime, anywhere, and that it's one of the "awful inevitables" of growing up.  She got sick, three days straight which is unusual so I had her checked up with her pedia again just so we could rule out dengue. (gosh, i really hate dengue) praise God, it's negative and that it's just cough and flu. 

We could'nt think straight, we could'nt work.  We could'nt show her how affected and how crazy her fever makes us.

And when her fever was gone, she requested for her Gelarti which she had been requesting for the longest time. hahaha. and because i can't say no to a just-recovered-from-fever kid, i gave in and bought the Hello kitty gelarti. hahaha. I'd rather spoil her than see her sick :)

thank you Lord for healing Simone.

The one with birthday once again

And because of the recent situation, I did'nt feel days passing by that quickly and I just realized that it's just several days before i turn 33. yes, i'd be 33 on monday.  Still feels like im just 28 so does'nt really matter, haha (except for the slow metabolism obvious in my weight, ahehe)

Now where to celebrate??? what gift to give to myself??? hahaha... my husband texted me the other day to choose an LV for myself as his bday gift.  But when i told him how much a wallet costs, he was like " what?!, just a little difference and you have yourself a bag already?!!!" hahaha. I'm thinking if a nice watch will do or a bling-bling. hahaha. I need to reward myself on my birthday.

Where to celebrate??? we're thinking of checking in, just dont have time yet to book one.

Where to eat??? still thinking too but definitely with the whole family, rain or shine. :)

Happy bday to me!!!

The one with habagat

It's our first time to experience this...having your house submerged with knee-high water caused by habagat (monsoon rains) and it's not even a typhoon.  I've had too many realizations after, things that made us better people, facts of life that made us rethink who we are and what we need to do with our lives. 

~ When Ondoy happened three years back, both our families and my sisters-in-law were all affected.  We were the only ones who werent and we felt so blessed that we were spared so we'd have strength to help and resources to extend.  But now, we're the only ones affected.  I remember always telling my sister in law not to worry about it, that God will replace everything sooner or later.  But when this happened to us,  I know all the things i said before still stand true, but i just can't help but feel sad and down for what happened.  Quoting what my friend Jeng said in her FB post, (rephrased): "i know everything will be alright, i know that God will replace all these material stuff, but i still can't help feeling sad thinking we're starting over agin".  I cannot relate to the starting over again as this is the first time this happened to us but i was sooo nodding over and over while reading her post, like it was exactly what i was feeling.  I had the chance to chat with Concon, another good friend of mine who was affected by Ondoy as well.  And i told her what i was feeling and that i dont have plans of dwelling on this emotion as it is not something God would like me to feel or think.  I just want everything to be back to normal.  And I know it was God-planned that we were able to chat, she enlightened me and reminded me of things to be thankful for, and that those are the things that i should focus on. And everything just seemed okay. :)

~ Accepting my friend's offer to stay in their house until we're back on our feet was really a humbling experience.  I know we've been friends since forever and that it's really not a big deal, but it's the first time we have to stay at another house because we dont have a decent place to stay in.  We stayed in Sogo hotel for four days before we decided to check out and just stay at Jill and Jon's place.  Their house is really nice as they have a guestroom intended for us but we can't help feel shy and uncomfortable that we're staying there and can't stay in our house.  I told Simon i'd rather swallow my pride just so i can be sure that my daughter is safe.  Our basement has been submerged with 6ft deep water and i dont plan to bring my daughter there until we're sure the house is ok.

~ Sometimes you expect other people to help you but the truth is, you should'nt expect them to.  I appreciate all the support our families have for us, i dont know, for some reasons though, i was expecting more from them during this time.  And suddenly, it daunted on me that maybe they were feeling the same during Ondoy, that we were not that "helpful" or at least exerted effort to help. hehe, just thinking out loud here.

~ I realize that the things that you've been trying to keep all your life, most of them are just things that you can actually let go, things that really don't matter in the end.  When our basement was flooded and I realized that most of our things were there, i found out later that i can live by even without these things.  Looking at it, it's one way to declutter your life :)

All in all, I praise God for everything.  I have countless things to be thankful for and I will forever hold on to His word and know that everything will be in His control.

The one with pizza making activity

I love doing activities with Simone, moreso, if this will be joined by her cousins.  She asked me to buy ingredients for pizza after watching a tv series in disney and i cant resist her so we went to the supermarket and bought some ingredients.  Since we bought a lot, we decided to have the activity together with her cousins Neyo and Justin.  It was really a fun day for them, albeit my slight knife injury. ouch!  Justin even told me, "i'm so happy" aaawwww...

The one with alternative habit

I'm not a smoker, and I don't think i will ever be one.  I take pride in saying that i have'nt puffed a single cigarette in my entire life.  But if you care to try something new and slightly sophisticated than cigarette smoking, there are options now like the electronic cigarettes or why not try to smoke cigars instead where one can experience more flavorful and unique smell to it. Cigars went through a process that gives its distinction to pleasurably smoking. One of the best cigars I know is the La Gloria Cubana, where its history marked its name to every cigars aficionado. It may be given as a gift to your boss or to your in-laws without doubt will see you that you have good taste.  I know about it coz my grandpa used to smoke cigars while he was in his library, soaked with books. Oh how i will always put that memory of him in my memory box :)

Just babbling around here. :)

The one with another dream collection

My brother started collecting coins when he was younger.  He got it from my dad.  I, on the other hand, doesn't know anything about antique coins. Why is it valuable to some collectors? I had a conversation once with a fellow friend who is quite engaged in coin collecting and would unquestionably research information about a coin that can complete his collections. Fanatic I can say to that friend of mine. He did mention about Mexican silver. He said that many of it isn’t exactly sterling silver so one should do acid test to ensure its purity. Oh well, I wasn’t fascinated much about the conversation but I did learn a thing or two about buying silver. Thanks bro!

The one with dream collection

It is unusual for a woman to collect something other than shoes and bags. But for me, I am starting to get fond of collecting watches.   Investing is also other means to rationalize the splurge (laugh!). I love clean design as well as functionality is concern. That’s where Bulova watch comes in. I was drawn to that brand since I want something dressy and classic at the same time where I can definitely wear anywhere, anytime. Wish i could buy one, like one for me and one for the husband? :)

The one with remembering the bulge

I remember when i was pregnant, I was large so I wasn’t pretty much excited about summer. Finding the right and stylish outfit for the coming season is like finding a needle in the haystack particularly in the Philippines. But thanks to the internet and the emerging online shopping saga, I was able to find a maternity swimwear at duematernity.com where you can find almost all types of maternity swimwear that my hubby will surely go gaga on me even if I weigh __ kilos and lots of flab.  Who says preggos can't be sexy? haha. :)

The one with yayaless again

Yes, the domesticated goddess is alive again. haha. we're back to zero with yaya help and I have my multi-tasking skills to its highest level.  I enjoy the privacy of having the house all to ourselves but at the same time, is foreseeing that i'd easily get tired and stressed with the additional household chores.  We're trying to work around a new routine in the house like having our clothes sent to a laundry shop on a scheduled basis, getting a stay out helper to clean the house and an on-call babysitter for simone everytime i have meetings outside.  Those are the immediate solutions we could think of and I'm glad so far (as in so far), everything's okay and still manageable.

Goodluck to me!

The one with more family time

For two weeks straight, been enjoying more family time with my kid and the husband. It's because either we only have lunch events or we really dont have parties that day. I cherish those moments but would always think of my staff and where they'll get money for their house needs.

Whilst enjoying more free time, I have cleaned our closets and took away old clothes i dont wear often like some Sydneys Closet prom dresses, or one-size-smaller clothes. And I hope i'd be able to pull some weeds tomorrow and fix the house furnitures around.

Loving this family time. In everything, give thanks :)

The one with accessory fascination

I've been into accessories lately.  I found this really nice store who sells wholesale accessories and i can't be more excited so i bought like ten pieces of assorted ones. I love all these new accessories i have!  I saw semi precious bead necklaces and bangles too but i want more of the costume accessories.  When you have really nice pieces of accessories, it's fun to dress up and it gives your outfit an easy upgrade.

Looking forward for more accessory buying soon :P

The one with Ice Age 4

So this movie has been a movie week for us.  We watched Ice Age 4 yesterday.  It's the first time with the kiddos and their parents.  We had such a great time.  We went to Eastwood to make sure we had reserved seats. 

Movie was great.  Sid was the funniest.  The storyline was okay too, comedy was the usual Ice age 4 comic, that's why we're thinking they won't make another sequel after this. Well, after Ice Age 3 i thought there won't be a 4 but i was found wrong. :P

The one with Amazing Spiderman

I'm a little bit surprised with me and the husband because we did'nt watch this on its first week.  It took me a while to get used to the fact that it's not Toby Maguire. And because i had so little expectation of the movie, i guess i appreciated it more. haha.

I still love Toby as Spiderman, i think because he's more of our age.  Andrew Garfield is not that bad at all, although i can't afford to giggle everytime i see his cute smile coz he's way younger than me.  You know the feeling like i cant appreciate the younger hunks now simply because i'm ten years senior than them. hahaha.

And i love Emma as an actressm esp in the movie "The Help" but no matter how much bangs she wears of knee-high boots, she would always look older than Andrew.  So it's a little hard to see the chemistry in them.

The movie had some modifications from the comics but can i just say that Andrew Garfield acts really good.  The movie is more on the "dramatic side" and music scoring really good, of course it's Hans Zimmer who else.

Next time, maybe i'd write knee walker reviews instead of movie reviews, haha. I might be a better writer of it i think :P

The one with king of comedy

It's a little weird (for the lack of term to use) to mourn if the person who passed away is an icon of true comedy and laughter.  I mean, everybody remembers him as someone who can make you laugh til you tear away, or til you grasp for air so i guess people did'nt really think he'd be in pain, in sickness or in death.  But it's just inevitable. It just is.

I heard about his passing July 10 at around 1030pm when I turned on my laptop and saw it in Yahoo News.  I really felt sad.  I know he's been trying to hang in there since his hospitalization last June 2012 but i guess i'm one of those people who never thought it would still be soon.  I know he's of age already and he has lived a full life, but you see, he's a living legend.  People who love to laugh should'nt be sick.  I guess that's how i felt. 

The following day, my husband and I were talking about his passing and to put the sorrows aside, we decided to watch a famous video clip, "Banayad Whiskey". Man, he really knows how to make people laugh, and once again, he made me laugh again. :)  It's true what he said in one of his interviews "kahit pumanaw man ako, mawala man ako, buksan nyo lang ang telebisyon nyo at magkakasama ulit tayo" (paraphrased)

Thank you for the laughter.

Jacque
John and Marsha kid
Home along da riles kid

The one with still on the end of season sale

I still can't get over the best buys I had at Bayo and decided to go there again.  I went there just yesterday to see if there were new items that are as nice as the ones I bought a week prior.  And sadly, the items on display were the same items i saw the first time.  But i'll give another try this week  and cross my fingers for more nice clothes. hahaha.

But there's always a silver lining...I saw these really nice discount bathroom cabinets at Make Room and I could'nt leave the store without buying at least one of the cabinets on sale.  When the husband saw me, he gave me a shaking head, as if saying "here we go again" so i stopped myself from buying and convinced myself that it's more practical to buy home stuff when we've moved to our new home. haha.

More shopping stories to follow!

The one with full blast party planning

Two days from now and it's my nephew's birthday! Zildjian is one! and I'm one excited aunt. (tita)

I could'nt help but interfere with my sister in law's party planning as she told me herself that party planning is not her piece of cake.  She's not used to getting all panicky and rushed for a party, even if it's for her kid.  But luckily, she has a sister in the form of moi. hahaha, just kidding. 

When she told me she'll just hire a clown and use home speakers for the sound system, I could'nt help but suggest to hire a host/magician and told her i'd be the one to do it instead.  Whatever savings they can get from cancelling it, they can just pay it to me and i'll give it to my friend Darwin who was willing to host the birthday for a super discounted rate. yey!

I also bought a cake for Zildjian.  Jane was supposed to bake one for me but her oven broke down.  And now i had to rush to go to another bakeshop and order a small cake instead.  We will also bring our beer tower, two food carts and the tarps i had made for Zildjian. yey, im excited for the party!

Happy bday Baby! :)

The one with family investment

I'm trying to do some research on investments and I'm really targeting mutual funds as one of the investments we can explore.  Luckily, I have a father in law whom I can ask about these things.  He introduced me to a plan of Pru Life where you can invest on a minimum of 12k annually and just add more into it every year if you want to appreciate higher earnings.  I got really excited about it and thought it would'nt hurt to try and invest with Pru Life.  They also offer life insurance no medical questions plan as long as your age qualifies for a plan.  I think that will be next move.

Happy investing!

The one with big projects

July is such a blessed month for Partyboosters.  We were able to close a deal with Meralco for their requirement of desk balloons as part of their Smile Campaign.  It's such a big blessing as I was able to give payroll to my staff equivalent to more than what they usually get during our weekend work, and I'm so happy that it felt like Christmas to them.

And now, I have an event with another client, well not as big as Meralco project but it's still a big event. I'm coordinating an acquaintance party for ABE College and I'm just excited to start planning the event. Thank you Lord for all the blessings!

Now I think it's high time to check a joomla host for my website domain, don't you think? :)

The one with business card

I keep on forgetting to upgrade my business card look and I would always remember it everytime i give away one, and kinda be embarassed of how it looks.  Well, it's not really that bad but i want to improve it, make the quality of the paper better, make it plastic if possible and really have nice colors and elegant to look at.  I asked my printer before to make a layout for me and I asked him to make 500 pcs for me as initial order.  I actually asked for plastic business cards by plastic printers but he does'nt have that kind so i just ordered laminated ones or those digital printed cards that are on trend right now.

My list of things to do just keeps on piling up! waaah!!!

The one with Bayo Sale

Last July 1, my family and I went to Eastwood for our weekly family bonding time and lo and behold, I was surprised to see really nice items On Sale at Bayo! and when i say Sale, I mean like 70 to 80% off! oh Man! The most expensive blouse i bought was only P250! My voice was on a high pitch the whole time and I was literally panicking which items to try out first. hahaha.

I'd have to thank the saleslady for showing me the racks where she had just put on the new sets of clothes on sale.  At first, I was thinking maybe these are clothes i wont be able to wear like tourmaster venture pants for men, or some tops that are too small for me.  But i'm just happy to find a lot of nice pieces for me, for my mom and for my sisters in law. wohoo! I bought like 15 pieces of really nice clothes.  Most ofthe tops are just P150 each.

Wohoo, can't you feel the excitement i still have a week later ? :) really really best deal.

The one with his BB

I was just starting to get the hang of having and enjoying my BB when the husband finally decided to get one for himself. hahaha.  it has been just days and he just suddenly told me that he's swapping his Rudy project eyeglasses for an old BB Oliver got from the office.  His Rudy Project did'nt come from GreatEyeglasses.com for prescription eyeglasses, it was part of his company benefits where every two years, he is able to get new glasses.  Since he's not used to wearing one, he just decided to swap it with a BB Bold. hahaha.

What my husband would do for a phone...enjoy your BB!

The one with need of repair

As my list of to do things pile up, I added another in the list... "check all desktop computers that need repair".  I got the one from greenland and asked my brother to check it for me.  I also want to bring the other one here in the house to SST laptop repair and have it checked.  We're not the "repair-kind-of-people".  I notice we're not so much fond of bringing broken things to get repaired mainly because we think it will just be a small difference compared to when you buy a brand new one again. I guess that's it, like in Japan or the US, they're not so much keen on having to repair things. They can easily buy appliances again and dispose the old one, especially if it's broken.  Heck, they dispose things even if it's not broken, how much more if it were. haha.

Off to another busy day. :)

The one with zildjian's birthday

Yes July will be a month of birthdays for my two nephews, Neyo who will turn three and Zildjian who will turn one on July 9. time flies really fast.  It will be a motorcycle theme this time since the dad (my kuya) loves motorcycles, like the big bikes of sorts.  Hmm, should i be wearing womens motorcycle boots on the day so i'd be in themed outfit? hahaha. My sister-in-law, Keisha, is thinking of red, black, yellow and white for colors.  I'll be bringing two food carts too that day and maybe a cake. :)

Happy birthday baby Zildjian! Tita loves you so much :)

The one with website soon

As soon as I'm done with our Meralco project, I'll be focusing on our website soon.  I contacted Jeff's cousin to do our website but i'm still contemplating on what package to get or if i'll get a better deal somewhere else.  That will be my gift to Partyboosters' 4th anniversary, a website. wohoo! I wish I can afford insurance for small businesses so i can get one for PB but i know we'll get there soon...in God's time. :)

Now, what would be a nice website name? (is that how you call it? or domain?) here are my choices but im not sure though if any of these is available.

~ partyboosters.com
~ partyboosters.com.ph
~ partyboostersevents.com

What do you think?

The one with achie's birthday

On tuesday, it will be achie's birthday and we're excited of what we're planning to get for her birthday.  I hope she'll like it.  I was planning for the longest time of getting her a netbook but thought it's really expensive (heck, we're not that rich to give away laptops for crying out loud haha) but i know that it's gonna be super useful for her.  So when her birthday got nearer and nearer, Simon asked Jane if she wanted to pitch in for a netbook for achie. wohoo! we love giving her gifts since she's our achie and we love her dearest!

I hope you'll like your gift chie! we love you! Happy birthday! I'm so excited to eat on their wood picnic tables again and just eat to our hearts content. haha.

The one with events styling

I really want to enrol myself in s formal event styling course this year and I hope I'd be able to enrol in Bambi's class. I just love her style and her creations! I just want to learn more, and venture more into my business.  It's Partyboosters' anniversary month and I pray that God will bless us more, more blessings, more clients and more payroll for my staff. haha. :)  We're almost complete with our equipments, the only thing lacking are warehouse and styro materials should i decide to venture into styro crafts soon.  I was also thinking of getting a hydraulic crimping tool but I'm not sure if I'd be able to maximize it.

God bless Partyboosters!

The one with accidental new phone

We went to Globe to get my mom-in-law a new phone line and I asked about my line if the rebates are still active.  Then, it was a good surprise to find out that i can renew my plan again and be able to get a Blackberry phone. wohoo! When I finally had it, I was so happy, I even tried to scan it in the barcode scanner just so i can be sure that it's mine. hahaha.

And now, i'm asking BB pins from friends. isn't it amazing?! haha.  Globe was also kind to deduct the freebies from my upgraded plan so they sort of lessened P2k pesos from my bill. cool!

Here's my new phone :)

The one with enchanted once more

As part of GMA Network's annual family day, we were treated to another Enchanted Kingdom experience.  It gets better and better as Simone's getting older as well and it's becoming more of an enjoyable experience for her.  The only downside maybe will always be the weather.  If it were a little cooler, I would have stayed the whole day there. haha.  I wish there are mist fans with water feature everywhere, enough to give the whole venue a cool breeze.  But overall, WE LOVE IT! who would'nt?! 2,400 worth of wizard money for food and souvenirs, free breakfast and unlimited rides! wohoo! This year we tried go kart. haha. it was fun. We got the 2-seater kart and Simon was telling me how hard it was to steer the wheel.  And then i thought "maybe it was because i'm heavy" hahaha.  I was able to catch the whole 10-min ride with our videocam.

Here are some pics i got from our friend's camera and my husband's:

this might be how our kids will look like...in matching outfits! haha

enjoying carousel

i look like shrek here. hahaha

the stuffed cat that looked like a bear. bwahaha. won this on a balloon game.

my girl :)

The one with first day of school

It's Simone's first day in school. She's now a kindergarten and I did'nt even worry about her if she'll have a good time or not.  I had to make sure if her class is just two hours or three hours already.  hahaha.  And when she went home, I'm glad she has adjusted well with having a new teacher and being a kindergarten.  She even taught me how to shout "Kindergarten Rocks!" hahaha.

I can say I'm less prepared this year for her first day.  Maybe because i'm not a first-time school mom anymore.  Instead of having name plates at QuickNameTags.com, i just went to SM and had personalized stickers for her books and things. I was also late in submitting the ID pictures but I'm just glad we were able to give it today so my penalty just amounted P75.00. haha, bad mommy!

Happy first day anak! Enjoy your school!

The one with improvised drum set

Who would have thought that the basement i used to put all our house trash has been transformed to a semi-music room.  We have an old drum set and Simon assembled it and tried to use the drum set as his exercise activity.  He set up equalizers, speakers and turned on some good music accompanied by him playing the drums. well, he's not even a drum player but it only goes to show that he's really a musician.  (even his exercise activities had to be music-related) hahaha

The one with crafty simone

I find it so cute that Simone loves the arts.  Right now, she's more into crafts and when she saw my box full of accessories and what-nots of how to make accessories, it became her instant activity at home.  She was able to make necklaces for me, and bracelets.  The craft supplies encouraged her to be more creative and even if it's not the professional type of accesories, i love that she's proud of all her works :)

The one with milk tea

Ever since my brother in law's milk tea shop opened, we've been frequenting it at least twice a week and i think the carbs from the milk tea (even if it's sugar free) contributed to my weight gain. hahaha. yeah right, i have to look for a reason as where to put the blame to. hahaha.  I really have to watch my weight again and even micrometers of sugar intake matter now.  I hope I'd be able to get back to my routine and somehow find my way to losing that last 10 lbs or so.

I hope it will happen before I get pregnant again. :)

The one with gardening

One of the things I can say I'm not good at is maybe gardening (haha, and i sound like i'm so proud of it)  Simon, on the other hand, looks like he has a green thumb everytime he tries to grow a plant, or even a crop.  One time, i bought these indoor garden plants and after several days, all of them just withered. hahaha.  Simon bought a couple of seeds for backyard vegetable gardening and he grew most of them after several weeks.  Our then neighbor gave him a vinedrop-growing plant (like the ones you see in garden venues) and he just put it somewhere near the mango tree and it just grew so well (so well it looked like we had a forest in our front yard. hahaha.

But you'd have to be proud of me, i was the one who reminded him to bring all our potted plants and take it with us to vista verde, so he could let it grow well. :)

The one with foosball

My man has to be rewarded once in a while for being a very good provider.  And his last reward ws a table top foosball game! I also thought it was a good buy, a really good one.  It would actually make it to top in gifts for your boyfriend or your husband.  I love how heavy duty it is and how much discount we got from it.  HMR is really the place to be. hahaha.

Congrats beh on your new toy. I hope you'd let me win some time. ;)

The one with business idea

I love spending time with friends who share a common passion with me...business! And it was such a delight everytime i'm with Concon.  I love it whenever we talk about things we love and we share sentiments with -- motherhood, family and business.  I got excited talking about a business idea.  I can't disclose it yet but i'm praying for it and making draft computations if things pan out well.  (and i hope it will!)

Surround yourself with good people and good things will come your way.  Maybe next time, I'd be blogging about builing an arch steel building where i can have tenants for commercial and industrial space leasing...it's an ultimate dream hoping to come true in God's time. :)

The one with frames

I'd cut our vacation story and go back to blog about house decorating tips we've been doing lately.  One big mistake i made while we were packing things was that i did'nt wrap the picture frames with newspaper or those bubble plastic wraps commonly used for wrapping fragile items.  I found out i broke our lamp and two personalized baby picture frames, one of which was given to Simone during her first birthday.  Good thing i was able to remove the glass and just framed it again without the glass.  It's a bit weird to look at but it's the only way i can do so i can use it still.

Oh well, now at least i have a reason to open the box of my unused frames in the house.  I don't know why i keep on buying frames without even knowing where i could actually use them. hahaha.

The one with pool and other facilities

Canyon Cove has a big, big pool for both kids and adults.  My daughter loves the water so much, she did'nt mind staying on the adult pool.  I'm not sure though if they have these hayward salt cell you put in swimming pools but the water is really clear and obviously well maintained.  The benches and tan beds are limited though for the number of guests currently checked in during our stay.  I also love the big trees situated in the center of the pool. so pictureque. ;)

There's also a gym and a couple of playgrounds in the resort but we did'nt use any of those as we came there solely to swim, eat, swim, sleep and yet again. hahaha.

Canyon Cove has only one restaurant in the resort.  You can't bring in other food inside the resort.  I found their food pricey so during our stay there, we had to go out everytime we needed to eat.  (except for the free breakfast that came in with the voucher).  Good thing, a five-minute ride can get you to Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking and several fastfood restaurants. :)  Our dads looove to eat and I'm so happy to see them eat to their hearts' content (well, with their wives tapping them and giving them the "stop-eating-look" every now and then, hahaha)

More stories again.  Apologies for writing this part by part.

The one with the vacation kwento (hotel and resort)

I almost forgot to share in detail of how our vacation went.  Let me share with you a detailed review of how our canyon cove vacation was.

Canyon Cove:  got an Ensogo voucher for 3200 per night.  A voucher is an overnight stay at Canyon Cove, with one hour free kayaing or snorkeling and set breakfast.  Buying it in ensogo was a breeze.  As long as you're  a member and you have a credit card or paypal, you can easily purchase one.  In my previous post, I shared that the second time i saw the promo, I told Simon that i cannot let it pass.  I really need to purchase the vouchers and include our parents on the vacation.  Good thing, my husband was considerate of how i feel (you know wanting to treat your parents whenever you can) and just enjoy a good family time. 

Canyon Cove is a great place for land-trip getaways.  It's a plus point that you don't have to ride a plane just to get there. :)  The room is really spacious.  The two twin beds and a semi sofa bed is a good deal.  The veranda overlooking the beach is a steal.  I love it!

Their service was okay.  Although their staff being undermanned was true during our stay there.  The first day we had to eat breakfast,  a lot of guests had to help themselves just to get what they needed.  Most of the tables were not yet cleared, thus, guests themselves had to clear the tables just so they can eat and dine.  It was a sweet surprise though that our set breakfast was turned to a buffet breakfast.  I guess no one was able to monitor the coupons and serve the set breakfasts that's why they decided to just make it buffet for everyone :)

I give them plus points for making up the room fast and early.  When we returned from our breakfast, I was surprised to see made up beds already with a new supply of tissues and toiletries. yey!

The beach is fine.  I thought it was more on the pebble side though and not the white fine sand you see in Bohol and Boracay.  But it was good.  I love the water, very clear.  Although a bit rocky though while on the water.    It's a small stretch only but at least it felt exclusive that only the guests in the hotel can stay.

Kayak is okay.  I was a bit terrified with the depth of the water and asked my husband to bring me to shore immediately. hahaha.  Our fathers loved the kayak and they had like two rounds of it.  The mothers, on the other hand, rode on the kayak just for photo opp purposes. hahaha.

They were also able to give us tan towel and beach towels everytime we'd dip in the pool or the beach.  And for that, another plus point. :) 

I just hope their lobby is airconditioned, but at least the lobby was pleasant enough to welcome you.

More stories and ratings to follow. 

The one with mother's day

I had to work during mother's day but good thing, we only had lunch parties that day.  I was so excited to finish my events and have the rest of the day to spend with my family.  After our events, I hurriedly went home and picked up Simone and my mom so we can go to church and attend service. 

It's nice to have a holiday just for the moms.  I mean, it's a good time to appreciate the mom that you are, your own mother and mom in law, your friends who are moms as well and just enjoy the blessing of motherhood.  I would love to be a mother of two kids but I know God will give it in His perfect time :)

Anyway, while trying to think of gifts for mom on her day, we just deided to hand them over a measly budget for any "me time" they can sneak into like a visit to the salon or a pair of nice shoes or a purse.  haha, notice the OR coz the budget can only afford them to purchase one item. hahaha. it's the thought that counts ;)

Happy mother's day everyone! Better late than never :)

The one with moving in tips

Since we just moved, I'd like to share some practical tips on how you can be more efficient in moving.

1.  Since we are moving to a smaller house, while packing, I already started segregating things in three categories: a) things that will be used at home b) things that are for selling or disposal c) things that can be used in the future but should be put in the storage room at the moment

2.  It's good that we have a spacious storage room (basement) and all our things easily fit in there.  But in order to be effective in storing items in the storage room, make sure that you properly label all boxes.  I'm anxious about the rains and possible floods in the basement in the future, that's why i need to buy more plastic iBoxes for all our items.

3.  Don't be too sentimental while packing and you won't be able to dispose things that are needed to be disposed.  hahaha.

4.  When I applied the 6-month rule in clothing segregation, I think i was able to half empty my cabinet. haha.  The rule is simple.  What you have'nt worn in 6 months or more, store it or dispose it immediately because chances are, you won't be able to use it again in the near future.

5.  It's good to experiment on how you put furniture around the house.  The log furniture like dining table fits perfectly in front of the ref and an arm length away from the kitchen. :)

Now that we're done with packing things, i hope we can move on with micro-managing thing at home like organizing my desk and the cabinets.

The one with everything here

While we're on the topic of us moving to another house, I'd like to share how God has made it easy for us to adjust living here.  I mean, the neighborhood is so quiet.  The village is more exclusive to its homeowners, there's a commercial center by the gate that literally has everything you need, whether hardware items, fruits and meat, vegetables, and even office and school supplies.  There are also a couple of salons and spa (which by the way has spa covers on their tables too).  You may not want to go out of the village anymore.

I just hope when the rainy season starts, the flood would be tolerable.  I know this place is prone to floods and I hope we can get by with just ankle-deep floods the most. haha. we'll cross the bridge when we get there.

The one with breakfast nook

I love our new house as we've found a place where we can have our breakfast everyday.  The house has a small terrace where you can put patio tables on and a couple of wooden chairs and you canenjoy your breakfast there.  This morning, the husband and I had breakfast there and we were thinking of putting a small plant on the table so it will have a more greenery effect.  It's nice to immeditely find a place where we can enjoy some quiet time during breakfast and Bible reding after.

PS. as of this writing, i'm here on the terrace enjoying a beautiful evening with my daughter. :)

The one with kid number 2

I think it's okay to talk about in this blog that we're trying to have another baby since late last year.  I've been getting mixed emotions towards the fact of having another baby.  there's excitement, fear, thrill and so much more other emotions happening at one time.  And it does'nt help as well that every month, everytime i buy a kit, i'd get a single line.  Oh well, all in God's time.  I'm still not that keen on trying pills that can help us get pregnant like pills for me and testosterone pills for Simon.  I just feel that if it will happen, it will happen in perfect time and God's will. :)

The one with financial talk

Now we're talking business here, I just had to share that i attended a talk about financial handling by none other than Chinkee Tan himself.  He's very inspiring!!! And i'm so encouraged to always save, always find ways to be productive.  One of the most important things i learned is that it's not about how much you earn but how much you save.  And it's really true.  Unless you don't know how to save, even if you're earning a lot but don't wanna save, i don't think you'd get far.

I've always loved to sell products and I'm hoping i'd be able to find that one product that i can sell easily and probably it will be something i love.  Right now, it could be anything. It may be food, bags, shoes, I can even sell the items i see in arginmax reviews, haha. 

I'll update you soon and see where things will go from here.  I really want to have another business and I pray that God will grant me with one :)

The one with new businesses

I'm so happy, our family is a family of business-minded people.  I got so thrilled when my mom decided to start a burger cart where she cooked the homemade burger patties herself.  It's exciting that she still wants to be productive and i totally support her.  I just wish she has this nice sunbrella umbrella to go with her burger cart.  It would make her cart more classy to look at and I'm sure she'll be more protected from the sun.

Next new business that we have in our family is twittea.  I love it because it's milk tea. His new shop is in Cainta.  We frequent the place too and we held our May thanksgiving dinner in his milk tea shop. Yey.

Loving all the businesses, I hope there are more to come. :) Thank you Lord for showering us with your blessings and grace.

The one with serious game

Megamall's 3-day sale started yesterday and will end on sunday.  While I was strolling in megamall, I found these nice educa puzzle and some huge discounted decors that i can use in my parties.  I also saw these wooden picket fence that i can use in my garden themed party but thought it's a little expensive so i decided to forego buying it.

You know store sales are really serious games you'd have to be prepared for always.  You need to think straight, weigh the pro's and con's of buying something and decide in like 5 minutes after you saw the item.  Time is gold in this game. hahaha

Oh well, i ended buying the things i only need and i'm so happy with my buys :) (whew, no impulse buy!)

The one with house repair

Ok, so now that we are transferring to another house, the house we got of course is not a new one. (gosh im so excited to move to our new house in pasig) and needless to say, i've mentally written down things we need to repair in the house and one of those is the garage floor tiles.  The garage needs a little repair but the kitchen roof is the most immediate need we need to consider.  And i'm also having a hard time as to what room to choose as the master's bedroom. waah.

Goodluck to us...really...

The one with movers and packers

The last word sounded odd, haha. but i'm just glad that we were able to hire extra househelp to help us pack our things as we move out of our current house.  waah, things are turning around so fast.  Last week, i just came from a vacation and now i have to pack our things and move to a house to stay in temporarily until our house in pasig is done. I did'nt expect any of this coming and i conditioned myself not to stress myself much as i have events i need to attend to this weekend.  So the solution:  hire people who can pack for you and unpack, clean the house and take care of everything for you.  It really comes in handy when there are people who can help you with this, like all i need to think is where the tv mounts will go or what items to throw, keep and sell. It makes my life much easier.

I hope this moving in will be over soon and i hope the house we're gonna stay with won't give us problems.

The one with 32nd bday

The Husband's birthdays are always celebrated with effort.  It's an advantage that his birthday falls the day before labor day and he grew up with birthdays celebrated either on a beach or a swimming pool (in time for their yearly family outing).  So with that said, every year, i'm also a little pressured to throw him a party that he will sure to enjoy.  This year, we celebrated it three ways, haha.  One was the videoke night with church friends.  It was a joint celebration of Brian and Simon's birthdays. Second was our family outing with our parents where my dad also celebrated his 60th birthday.  And lastly, was our simple dinner with his family and my parents at Twittea (my brother in law's new milk tea shop). 


And now after the three-part celeb, i'm scared to weigh in the scales. I'm so sure I gained weight...Waaah!!!

Here are some pics from the videoke night since i already posted some vacation pics on my previous post:

 the birthday boys -- simon and brian

 pretty girls

 parang long-legged ako dito kung maka-cross leg ha. haha.

fun, fun!